It’s official, AGAIN, the BLM’s Wild Horse and Advisory Board recommends killing off Long Term Holding horses and any “excess” on the range…they even brainstormed about sending horses off to Russia to feed their Siberian Tigers.

Banner from America’s Wild Horse Advocates (AWHA) with Melissa Ohlsson, Vice President of AWHA as artist

Rumors abound on the internet but here are the ACTUAL recommendations by the puppets as reported to us:

Increase the budget in FY2019 to 3 million for reversible fertility control.

BLM Immediately (over the next three years) remove excess animals from the range to achieve AML.(MURDER)

Phase out long-term holding over the next three years. (MURDER)

Increasing funding to support successful adoption programs and on the range management, and consider possibilities for international adoptions.(MURDER)

absolutely…the corruption of this industry led regulatory industry needs to be stopped. Thank GOP that this criminal activity is ongoing…& return our regulatory agencies back to people rather than corporate entities’ control.

I really think someone with a lot of knowledge about this issue needs to take Ben Master’s articles apart bit by bit along with stating sources because many people think he is the next best thing besides apple pie. Why? Has he published any research articles on the “facts” he is stating in his facebook post and national geographic articles? No he is in the pockets of those wanting to slaughter and remove, he is their poster boy. It is very suspicious how someone virtually unknown a few years ago makes a horrible movie and now is the poster boy for range management of wild horses and other wildlife because he got a degree. He states that there is an estimated 80,000-85,000 wild horses!!!!! roaming across the west causing all kinds of havoc.

Mustangs Deserve a Better Film than “Unbranded”
The 2015 film’s scenery doesn’t make up for the cruelty endured by the wild horses.
Libby Blanchard

But I found the documentary disturbing. Scenes of negligence towards the mustangs abound. A dog drives a horse to jump a barbed wire fence. The horse’s hind leg gets ensnarled in the wire, and the animal struggles to pull free while the boys watch.

Another scene shows a horse limping from a torn muscle in its hindquarters, the after-effect of setting him loose to graze with his halter on. Any real horseman knows that a horse can easily catch its hoof in the webbing of a halter negligently left on, resulting in severe and potentially permanent injuries.

But the most egregious scene is when the boys force their horses up dangerous terrain. Someone notes that the route is a bad idea, but no one has the maturity or leadership to turn back. After struggling up the steep mountain face, one horse — unable to gain purchase in the loose, unstable footing — kneels down in exhaustion. When the boys provoke it back onto its feet, the mustang struggles for a foothold. Unable to find purchase, it tumbles off the mountainside, rolling through the air down a significant drop before crashing onto flatter ground.

At this point, I turned off the film, disgusted. When I finished it later, I discovered – unsurprisingly, given the negligence and ignorance throughout – that one of the horses dies. This death is never explained. Instead, the death is romanticized by these self-identified cowboys, who say it is “satisfying to know that he died in the wild where he belonged, not in a holding pen.” Yet there’s little moral high ground for the cowboys to stand on: A horse was fatally injured under their care, a circumstance that is neither common nor acceptable on a horse-packing trip.

The only comprehensive thread woven through the documentary is the account of four fame-seeking boys who disregard the welfare of their horses to inflate their own egos. Instead of being exalted, the American mustang is treated as a cheap, easily replaceable commodity available for irresponsible use.

kamalagandt, YOU ARE 100% right . Ben Master’s, He is their go to f?boy. And lies through his teeth about everything .. The state of New Mexico has a program where they gave all the wild horses pzp and it’s working, you lied about that ! They did it from the air . The only thing that is overpopulation is the cattle and sheep they are the ones killing the land . The wild horses and burros take a bit of grass and move on , and it regrows back, cattle and sheep they eat anything and pull the grass out and nothing regrows . There are 5 cows and sheep to 1 horse on the open range , and the welfare rancher need to keep their cattle on their own land and stay off public lands .They are costing the taxpayers money . We all know the cattle and sheep business what the wild horses gone so they can use the land . You talk about how many horses are on the open range , and say there’s 80,000to 85,000 ,lie ! That is what is in holding pens ! There is less on the open range now then there was in 1971 ! You talk about killing the wild horses off because their are too many ,wrong you need to ship the cattle to Russia and other countries . . When there is a drought horses go to the high country and deal with cougars and eat the snow for a water source. This is all about greed . You people make me sick and someone needs to stand up against the cow crap. Wild Freedom Federation

However, it is important to keep in mind that in recent decades, the average size of (non-Longhorn) cattle is much larger due to improved genetics, and one of the key genetic goals is for calves that gain weight and size faster. In combination, that means a cow/calf pair from 1950 that might together have weighed about 1200 lbs. have been replaced by animals that weigh (and need to eat) more as a result. Some single adult cows can now weigh 1200 lbs. and their calves about half that by the end of their first growing season.

So if the same AUMs are calculated to feed half the number of cows, but they weigh twice as much, there is no net reduction in forage demand despite the lower per head numbers.

On the wild horse side, these generally aren’t large animals, and more than half of any herd will be females and foals so the majority won’t be 1,000 lb. animals (what 1 AUM of forage is calculated to feed for one month). All horses seem to be counted as 1 AUM regardless, perhaps to include foals but it isn’t clear how the BLM tallies these.

Anyways, this is more reason to not look at any permit or HMA area generically as all must be managed in a site and condition-specific manner. Each will have different soils and management histories, and potentialities and problems.

Ben’s blanket statement about such complexities doesn’t speak well of his understanding or his intentions.

“The BLM’s FIRST GOAL is always to find good homes for the thousands of wild horses and burros gathered from overpopulated herds on our country’s public lands. The BLM will continue its partnership efforts to train and find homes for as many wild horses and burros as possible…” [emphasis mine].

Last year, when he voted “yeah” on killing Mustangs and burros in holding, I believed that he did so because he was nervous, had to make a quick-paced decision and saw no way out. To be honest, I almost felt sorry for him. BUT, after THIS move, I realized that he hasn’t changed a bit. He isn’t the genuinely compassionate yet naive, emotionally-conflicted person that I thought he was. What a shame. I am disgusted in his suggestion to allow the senseless killing of our free-roaming equines.

Don’t know if you’ve seen this or not, but this does look Sec. Zinke is taking a serious look at this. Craig Downer and Dr. Ross McPhee are consultants. Personally, I think this is an option worth considering. Also, good info comparing horses and cattle’s effect on ecosystems where they are found.

Good article – hope they look at it in depth, and with Craig Downer on the consulting roster, they will get the truth. Otherwise, advocates in reading Craig’s book, many times recommended wild horses to clear all the
dry grasses along with cheat grass before it goes to seed, to reduce these horrific fires. Ranchers recommend their goats and sheep to do that.

However, Sec. Zinke recommended and worked toward opening an equine slaughter house in Montana – we know where he’s coming from. He believes in putting horses down if they’re too old to ride, to breed or just because they won’t do human’s bidding.

There aren’t 55,000 corralled wild horses – that’s an over-estimation. Too many processing plant records will not support that statement. There also aren’t 45,000 wild equines on public lands which was not said in article. Zinke and those he represents along with the BLM Advisory board want to create a crisis situation while the whole public land leasing program comes in at a loss of:
“Direct government expenditures to administer public land grazing constitute an annual net loss to the taxpayers of at least $123 million and more than $500 million when indirect costs are accounted for.” https://www.westernwatersheds.org/public-lands-ranching/

Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she needs to find areas to cut the budget. Why doesn’t she look at the DOI losses first before opening ANWR for drilling to get revenue.
The moral fabric is gone and that enables space for selfish greed to spill out without a second thought.

Wild Horse Freedom Federation
WHITE PAPER
on the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse & Burro Program with a Focus on Problems Related to Holding Facilities

“WHFF has evidence that in some cases less the one-half of the horses supposedly on the grounds of the facilities were actually there”

PAGE 23
After viewing the perimeters and/or driving down roads in the middle of almost half of the facilities, and using comparisons and confirming conclusions with GPS, photographic, and videographic evidence, including GPS overlays of the travel path over the map of the long-term facilities, WHFF has evidence that in some cases less the one-half of the horses supposedly on the grounds of the facilities were actually there

This is beyond comprehension!! Again, WE need a massive march organized to get the attention of the news media and the rest if the country In lieu of a big march, we should.all get groups and protest the local.offices of our Congressional members. And be sure to contact your local media. It starts with one voice. And WE must be their VOICE! Their is nothing safe in our country with these knuckle heads at the helm! It totally makes me I’ll!.

I’ve tried to contact various anchors regarding the impending doom of our wild horses along with my senators – but no luck. Don’t know why the news media, except for one in CA, will not address this issue.

> Wild Horses Eating Cheatgrass – A Wildfire Mitigation Study
>
> I would like the DOI to undertake a study on the relationship between
> wild horses, invasive grasses like “cheatgrass”, and wildfires,
> especially in the Western United States. Also, I would like the
> reports and conclusions of the study to be made available on the DOI website.
>
> I have submitted a number of ideas and comments regarding wild horses
> on our public lands. One of the issues that frequently come up in wild
> horse discussion groups is the invasive plant commonly called
> “cheatgrass”. As I understand it, this grass is extremely
> opportunistic. It grows in the early spring and then dies, providing
> dried ground fuel that helps spread wildfires.
>
> There have been observations that wild horses feed on cheatgrass when
> it first emerges, before seed heads have a chance to develop and disperse.
> There have been professional firefighters who consider the absence of
> wild horses on areas where cheatgrass has taken hold actually
> increases wildfire danger.
>
> I think this type of study could provide important information on
> mitigating the available fuels that contribute to the dangerous and
> destructive wildfires that ravage our lands, and might find our wild
> horses are more than icons of the West. They may be a natural, widely
> available, and economical fire brigade.
>
> READER COMMENT
> highnoonhorsefarm in Mar 2010
>
> We have been able to reduce and almost eradicate the cheatgrass in our
> pasture by grazing the horses(10)and a small herd of goats
> (9),part-time, in the early spring to keep it from going to seed. They
> love it when it is green and tender and seem to prefer it so it gives
> the other grasses a chance to come on. We are in our 5th year of
> re-habilitating a severely overgrazed dryland pasture. We do not
> irrigate because there is no water with the land. They graze together and our pasture has never looked better.https://openinterior.ideascale.com/a/dtd/32778-7034#idea-tab-comments

This Is It. It’s the Big one. Been telling everyone human being I come in contact with for the past 6 months. This is what All the battles led Up to, this is the Bad A $$ of them All. Were In to Save the Wild Horses which in turn will Save Domestic horses. Even Sue grab the Back up Broom Humphries was seen online posting that STOPPING ALL ADOPTIONS AT THE BLM TO INDUCE BIOSECURITY MEASURES IS ENCOURAGING DEATH……I SAID THAT PRO HORSE SLAUGHTER PEOPLE WHO HAUL HORSES TO SLAUGHTER SHOULD NOT BE AROUND THE BLM BECAUSE THEY ARE A BIOSECURITY RISK TO THE HEALTH OF WILD HORSES NOT STOP ADOPTIONS. IT’S THE OTHER WAY AROUND, STOP THEIR ACCESS. SLAUGHTERPHILES HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN OUTRAGEOUS HORSE KILLING BEHAVIOR FOR MONTHS ONLINE AND OFF. THEY HAVE NO RESPECT FOR HORSE OWNERS, HORSE PEOPLE OR ANYONE OPPOSED TO KILLING HORSES. IT’S TIME WE FIGHT THIS TOGETHER LIKE THE CRIME IT REALLY IS. TELL CONGRESS WE WON’T STAND FOR THE BUREAUS MISMANAGEMENT TO CONTINUE TO ENDANGER AND HARM HORSES BY STOPPING THEM FROM KILLING THEM. AMERICA IS QGAINST CRUELTY AND ABUSE OF HORSES AND IT NEEDS TO STOP TODAY, THE BLM CANNOT CONTINUE IT’S DISERVICE, ABUSE AND CRUELTY, BLATANT DISREGARD THE HORSES LIVES IN FAVOR OF A HANDFUL OF RANCHERS WHO IN TURN JEAPORDIZE THE FOOD CHAIN AND BEEF PRICES. WE CANNOT ALLOW A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE TO DICTATE TO THE UNITES STATES OF AMERICA VOTING POPULATION WHAT THEY WANT TO DO WITH OUR ICONIC AMERICAN WILD AND DOMESTIC HORSES. WE ALSO DO NOT ALLOW ABUSIVE SLAUGHTER OF FERAL HORSES EITHER ON THE RECORD.

Humphrys posted that she wanted to take ISPMB stallions to euthanize last time. Why did she want stallions? For target practice before she and her friends put bullets in the horses ears? Fortunately, she did not get them as far as I know. An evil person.

Having read Mr. Master’s facebook story – why does it appear from that that only the horses are responsible for acres of cheatgrass? He has a picture of acres of tall dry grass with himself in the middle!
“In arid deserts of the Great Basin where most wild horses roam, disturbed native plant communities are often replaced by fire-prone annual invasives, especially cheat grass, that can dominate a landscape.”
There are grazing allotments there also. Does this mean that livestock wont eat cheat grass – only NATIVE GRASSES? Interesting.

It is a complete fallacy to fault wild horses for the arrival and invasive expansion of Cheatgrass:

“Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is an introduced annual grass that is widely distributed on rangelands in the western U.S. The origins of cheatgrass are probably southwestern Asia (Young and others 1987) via contaminated grain from Europe in the late 1890’s (Mack and Pyke 1981). Cheatgrass was pre adapted to the climate and soils in the Great Basin Desert (parts of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah) and filled the void left by the reduction of native herbaceous vegetation by historic livestock grazing (Young and others 1987).”

Well, we all know that cattle came originally from Asia – so no surprise! Its like beating your head against a wall telling these people the truth when they only know what they want to know. And they don’t want to “know” who the real culprits are who are destroying the public land. It would cost them money!

This Board has been a dismal failure in the issues of accountability, oversight, sincere concern for preserving our Living Legends and are in urgent need of replacement. Except the Secretary of the Interior wouldn’t want three new “wild cards” tipping the balance of all those pre-formulated strategies, now would he?http://americanherds.blogspot.com/2008/11/advisory-board.html

The Board has no legal authority, so they don’t have ny real investment in the outcome, nor realistically any consequences of their decisions. Any actions taken by the BLM must rightly be laid squarely on the BLM, and Congress who empowers and can disempower them. The only other authorities are vested in the huge numbers of US citizens who are part owners of the public lands and the public’s animals, and in the President, who could with an executive order forbid the execution of healthy animals on or off the range.

This picture is a sickening waste but at least the truth needs to come out, even if it is the most nauseating and sad scene I have looked at, knowing that they didn’t have to face the slaughter process is small comfort, but some at least.

To the Senate committee
I believe that all of the cattle ranchers should invest and install Solar panels or wind mills to produce water to water their own land. This would illuminate the use of public land that is for all wild life . With today’s Technology there is no reason for the cattle to be on public land. Ranchers need to use the resources available in todays World to produce A better grazing land for their cattle on their own land. If they have more cattle than what their own land can handle, then they should reduce the size of their cattle herd.
This scenario should relinquish BLM from having to round up and shoot or kill or slaughter our beautiful wild Mustangs. The BLM and the ranchers just want to line their pockets’s at the expanse of doing away with the wild horses. It does not matter how you look at it but if you kill in any way shape or form it is slaughter of the wild horses. It is a shame that humans try to play God. All wild creatures big and small have a right to live as God created them man should not eliminate them.
If you allow anyone to do away with any wildlife from the range or ranges it is a crime and they should be prosecuted for eliminating God’s creatures. If man would leave the wild animals where they are in the public lands there should be no reason to eliminate them. If you remove all the wild horses it will cause other wild creatures to hunt on private land that would be a shame it is only survival.
The overpopulation is in the human race, known as mankind, which is the cruelest of all mammals alive. Man is cruel and humans are the only ones that kill for fun.
I am asking you please do not let anyone shoot any horses or send them to slaughter. Please say no to anything that will end the life of any of the wild horses
Please return the wild horses to the open public land where they belong they were not starving
Thank you and please do not kill our wild horses

It’s all about the super rich cattlemen who have paid nothing to graze their cattle on our federal lands. They want no competition. They kill the natural predators (which are proven to bring back healthy ecosystems in the process of weeding out the weakest animals. ) If ranchers paid fair value to rent the land it would bring everything back into perspective. Destroying the wild horses and burros, wolves, coyotes and bears will not be enough to appease their greed. I am not willing to give up my portion of the land, endowed to me, and all American citizens, in order to allow ranchers to get richer while destroying wildlife, nature, and the health of our entire planet. THEY should be required to reseed and restore the Prairies. It is their industry that has and continues to decimate the flora and adds contamination to our water.

Please save these beautiful animals
If all could watch these animals in the wild you would see they don’t eat all the range they will eat and move on they are not like sheep. It is out of greed. Please help them

I think if the board wants to shoot healthy horses they should have to do THEMSELVES. No pawning it off on somebody else. No sub contracting it. No hiring.

H Alan O’Day (Chief Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s brother)documents how BLM forced him to kill 2 dozen of his oldest wild horses. They simply didn’t want to feed them thru the winter. Rather than pawn this disgusting job onto somebody else Mr. O’Day chose to do the job himself.

Ben Masters had the ultimate chance to make lifelong friends with wild horses. To see and experience what a bond really means. He didn’t just miss the experience…he flat out refused and betrayed the horses. What a sorry excuse for a human being.

For the record, once BLM signs the final decision to remove these horses down to the new “allowable management level” (AML) of 0, this will initiate the one and only opportunity for the public to legally appeal BLMs decision to zero out the Herd Management Areas through the Interior Board of Land Appeals (BLM calls it “dropping its Herd Management Area status”, which is why the former HMA’s are now being called Herd Areas instead).

In other words, there is absolutely no way the public can stop BLM and BLM knows it, so a Full Force and Effect issued the day before the final removals is a perfect choice for government officials seeking to permanently screw the public out of our wild heritage.

However, this isn’t the only option BLM has to screw us with as they have a myriad of weapons to throw at us.

They may decide to use the “Nuisance Gather” or the “Emergency Gather” clause to take them out, just like they already did prior to releasing the news of the new RMPs Final Decision to the public. Click Here to read “Losing Ground” and how they have already used this before!

Or they may decide to pull the same crap they pulled on the Nevada Wild Horse Range gather last summer by only giving a “verbal order” to remove them. Here, BLM gets to circumvent any legal challenge by failing to “sign” a decision and IBLA is bound by the fact that they can’t rule on a decision without a signature.

Does anyone think it is possible to file a class-action lawsuit that would read something like, “American Public vs. The Department of the Interior” as the DOI has apparently become a sovereign nation all unto itself and anyone who tries to stop them may now be considered an “eco-terrorist”? (See BLMs Alternative Management Options Draft Report on BLMs development of wild horse and burro disposal ideas. Also, see how the BLM planning team included the need to consider tightening security, moving the kill operations “off site” from any public, media or Congressional attention and “insulating” those who would butcher our wild heritage from public, media and/or Congressional scrutiny/criticism – Click Here, page 21, paragraph 3)

BLM will get their paybacks one day they will get the Karma deserving too them for killing these wild freedom horses of America and you all should be Ashamed of yourselves one day you’ll get your slap on your faces for killing Americas horses. JESUS Said how you treat my living beings , is how you do unto ME. You will. R judged accordingly too your ACTIONS

BLM will get their paybacks one day they will get the Karma deserving too them for killing these wild freedom horses of America and you all should be Ashamed of yourselves one day you’ll get your slap on your faces for killing Americas horses. JESUS Said how you treat my living beings , is how you do unto ME. You will. R judged accordingly too your ACTIONS

This is the most outrageous solution! Leave the wild horses and all other wild animals alone !! The federal government uses millions of taxpayers money to fund protection! Why is the BLM lying?? You people will pay! God will punish you for sure! Your recommendation is full of fals facts!

Greed is inhumane now. Itts gone too far. There is no concern for people or animals and it really appears like they wannt to destroy the environment purposely.
The number of cold hearted, ruthless, elite 1% people have gotten our country in a desprite situation in every way.
They have made the system so that they took the power from the people and have it too themselves. Nothing has changed since ,so I don’t know how anything will. They pay everyone on all sides. Only the people who are authentic and don’t take their money are out hope.
The “Masters of Mankind” know what their doing they invented it. So. They again divided us in a very effective manner.
I’m an optimists. So I hold hope. We had slavery at one time, I’m sure most people thought that was always going to be.
Thank you

That is indestable wasting these animals for what what do we need to do to stop this blm needs replace all of them put people that think rationally iam sick of calling senators when nothing is being done to stop this what can be done

The destruction of these animals needs to STOP…NOW! They are part of our country’s history. They deserve to be on these lands as much as any other wild animal. Destroying them by inhumane methods in unconscionable. But then, the people doing this can’t be called human at all! Leave them alone and stop the cruelty. Anyone supporting this destruction should be removed from their jobs and imprisoned…yes, imprisoned!

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